More private house owners in front of the sandy bay at Bowen Craig should play a part in keeping the Largs beach clean and tidy.
That was the view of community councillor Margaret Wood, who said that she was appalled with the state of the beach with wild grass growing high, and litter, and wants to see the beach raked by North Ayrshire Council.
Speaking during the monthly meeting of Largs Community Council at the library, Margaret said: “The area near the Pencil is a disgrace - why can Ardrossan and Saltcoats have their beach cleaned, yet Largs can’t?
“It shouldn’t be too hard to be able to get a tractor down there. I think it is appalling - it is the only sandy beach we have got and the only place you can take your children where it is safe for them to go in the water, and it is left in this way.”
Ian Murdoch said: “Former community councillor Margaret Brown regularly brought this issue up with the council and she always got the same answer that the council couldn’t rake the beach. The Saltcoats beach gets raked every Friday with a tractor and trailer.”
Largs CC chairman Douglas Blair sympathised: “Yes, there is quite a lot of litter down there, and sometimes it is quite dangerous.”
Patricia Perman of the CC environmental committee has arranged another beach clean for the main beach area near the Pierhead on Sunday 21 August from 12 noon to 3pm, but said it could be possible to extend the community event to cover the sandy bay.
Margaret responded: “People who live in front of the sandy bay have paid hundreds of thousands of pounds to enjoy the view - why don’t they do something about it?”
Ian replied: “Residents have been up in arms about it for years.”
Douglas added: “In terms of rubbish, it is a terrible thing about society, and it is just not tolerated in other European countries such as Germany where people care for their environment.”
The ‘News’ understands the sandy beach is not owned by the council, but by the Crown Estates. However, the North Ayrshire Streetscene Team do hand pick litter on a regular basis at this location in order to ensure the area is well presented for residents and visitors to the area.
Former community councillor Margaret Brown spoke to the ‘News’ and said: “We are not going to have a sandy bay in a few years time with all this wild grass growing. I just think it is ridiculous that nothing can be done about it. It is a similar story in Kames Bay in Millport. Why can every other town in Scotland clean their beaches, Saltcoats being a prime example, yet you cannot clean Largs or Kames Bay. Historically the beach was raked but this practice stopped some time ago.”
MSP Kenneth Gibson, who has carried out his own beach cleans on the Clyde in recent years, acted on the issue, and raised concerns with North Ayrshire Council, who responded: “The council continues to hand-clean the beach of litter, this is seen as best practice and allows the natural strand-line and vegetation to remain, which supports the beach ecosystem and helps to prevent sand erosion.
“The beach at Sandy Bay was historically raked but this practice ceased some years ago. Mechanical cleaning equipment compacts the sand and removes the top 10-15cm of the beach.”
Kenneth added: “The view expressed by NAC is that the way they clean the beach is most beneficial to its long term sustainability. Many beaches, Brodick and Lamlash for example, have been damaged by erosion and the council believes that their actions are the best way to counter that.”